


J-BRK03

by MegaMink



Series: Universe M [2]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Caretaking, Coping, Developing Relationship, Experimentation, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Murder, Nursing, repairing relalationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2018-10-17 09:10:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 13,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10590885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaMink/pseuds/MegaMink
Summary: Burter finds Jeice weak and near death on a mission, and decides to take him with him in order to save his life. Having to take care of the man and nurse him back to health, he learns about the man's incredible ability with Ki, and so do others. As news gets around of the pair, certain people grow interested in them.





	1. -1-

 Burter hadn’t been sure what to expect when he’d been ordered to journey the what used to be Planet Brench. He’d been told to harm nobody, and to find an incredibly powerful being who’d been rumored to have an amount of ki so great that an elite group of scientists used this ki to power an entire secret laboratory and prison.

 Burter definitely hadn’t expected to land on the planet to find the building halfway destroyed, and almost completely empty. The power had been cut out, and everything fried. Bodies of scientists and test subjects alike were found on the ground, many of them charred.

 “These were from ki blasts… But like, a massive one. And these poor bastards just barely escaped. They’d be turned to ash if they were hit by the brunt of it. Must’ve spread out from one spot,” The soldier accompanying Burter observed, swallowing hard. She continued down the hall, and Burter had to duck under doorways. The place had been made of metal, so thankfully it hadn’t been burned easily to the ground. 

 “This wasn’t recent, too quiet. Anyone who’s survived is gone. I don’t think our guy is here,” Burter groaned, huffing as the soldier inspected burnt wire. 

 “The stuffs getting more damaged as we keep going, we must be getting close to where the blast was fired.” She said, ignoring his comment. They continued down the halls, following the worsening damage. 

 “Just one guy did all this? It must’ve been the generator. They were draining his ki right? So it must’ve blown up.” Burter said, stopping at what used to be a window into an observation room. He avoided the glass on the floor, and marveled at the decimated generator. It was huge, and at this point everywhere in the room. The soldier whistled at the damage, and almost laughed.

 “Poor bastards overfilled the thing,” She laughed, going through the window into the massive room. Burter tried to grab her, but she was already jumping down onto the floor. He growled, carefully following. He struggled to bring his massive body through the window, and didn’t even need to jump for his feet to touch the floor. 

 “There’s no way that’s from one guy, he’d have to have  _ unlimited _ ki for all that. There was probably some malfunction. He probably died in the blast,” Burter huffed, following her. The room was pitch black, so he formed a ball of ki in his hand for light. It didn’t do much, but he could at least see a few feet in front of him. 

 “No wonder Frieza wants the guy, he must be crazy strong,” The woman laughed, making her own light source. She turned to Burter, grinning a bit.

 “He’s probably a big guy like you, so strong and manly~” She flirted, giving Burter a wink. Burter rolled his eyes and scoffed, glaring at her as he crossed his arms over his chest.

 “You’re barking up the wrong tree lady, you aren’t my type.” He hissed. She chuckled, stepping over to him. He stepped back, about to insult her or swat her away. When he opened his mouth to talk, the sound of quiet sobbing echoed through the room, and both of their scouters began to beep like a fire alarm having found that a candle fell and set the whole room ablaze.

 “What the hell? Someone’s in here…” The woman spoke, her eyes wide. She turned around, following the sobs. 

 “Wait! Look what the scouter says.” Burter growled, frozen stiff as the numbers on his scouter went haywire, raising and raising as the sobs grew louder. The woman ignored him and continued walking, forcing Burter to follow. 

 When they got to the back of the room, huddled in the corner was a tiny curled up creature, He was so thin that he could hardly be considered alive, and too weak to do much more then crawl pathetically on the floor. 

 Dull green eyes glanced nervously up at the two, and the poor man sobbed harder in fear. A torn hospital gown was all that covered his frail naked body, and tangled white hair covered most of his face from view. God knows how long he’d been there, or what had happened to him. Burter knelt down, holding his hand out towards the tiny man. He was certainly Brench-sejin, from his crimson red skin and snowy white hair.

 “Is this a kid? There’s no way this is our guy. He’d supposed to be an adult, not some scrawny pipsqueak!” The woman growled in anger, causing the terrified man to wince and curl up in a tighter ball. The glare Burter shot at her shut her right up.

  “It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you…” He said in a soft voice. He didn’t blame the poor man for being scared, he was a giant snake man after all. The tiny man whimpered, backing against the wall as Burter’s massive clawed hand grew closer to him. Gods he was so tiny. Burter couldn’t tell how tall he was since he was curled up, but he could definitely tell he wasn’t even five foot. Was he a child? There wasn’t any way that someone could be evil enough to experiment on a child, right? Burter could recall some of the corpses being small enough. 

 “Are you a child?” He asked. The man shook his head, finally opening his mouth to speak. His teeth were crooked, a gap between them. Burter could tell from the plump lips on his face and sad puppy eyes, that this man was definitely a looker before being dragged into the awful place.

 “I’m in my twenties…” The man said softly, slowly uncurling. He crawled towards Burter, weakly sitting up. He could hardly hold his weight up, and Burter gently steadied him with one hand. The man was too weak to move away from his hand.  


 “Can I see your wrist?” Burter asked quietly, holding his hand out again. The man glanced at him for a while, and swallowed hard. He said nothing as he placed a tiny hand onto Burter’s. Burter was as careful as could be as he checked his frail wrist, the other soldier being kind enough to lean down with the light source. Both of their eyes widened as they saw the identification code permanently written onto Jeice’s arm. J-BRK03. Neither knew what it meant, all they knew was that they were looking for someone with that number. Burter looked over at the woman, frowning.

  
**“He’s our guy…”**   



	2. -2-

 Burter had learned his name on the ride back to the colony, Jeice. The female soldier he had been working with said nothing the entire ride back, simply mumbling that the mission had been a waste of time. Burter still found it hard to believe that this tiny man was the powerful man they’d been looking for, and wondered if maybe he was a fake. Though he couldn’t bring himself to just leave the poor man there, he was in desperate need of help.

 He was so weak, he couldn’t even sit up on his own. Burter gently held Jeice as careful as he could, afraid he’d accidentally break him if he so much as touched him. It was nerve wracking, and he sighed. He knew well enough to not give him any solid food, because in Jeice’s state he just puked anything he swallowed that wasn’t liquid. 

 “Open your mouth…” Burter said, holding a cup up to Jeice’s lips. Dull eyes glanced up at him, and his lips parted weakly. A warm liquid was carefully tipped into the Brench-seijin’s mouth. Jeice couldn’t recognize the taste, some sort of broth. 

 “There’s no use in giving him any food, he’ll just end up dying anyway.” The woman scoffed, glaring back at the two. “This ship has a limited supply as it is, you’re just wasting it.” 

 “You shut up,” Burter hissed. If looks could kill, she’d have died where she stood. She hadn’t expected the other to reply in such an angry way, and looked away. Jeice winced at Burter’s anger, and let out a soft whimper. Burter’s face softened, and he gently caressed his cheek.

 “Shhh… You’re safe,” The giant spoke softly, beckoning Jeice to take another drink of the broth. It was depressing to say the least, seeing someone in such a pathetic state. They’d spend a week on the tiny cargo ship, and Burter just hoped Jeice would be able to make it. That generator must have drained him, stolen all of his strength. Burter was glad that the place had been destroyed, it disgusted him to think about what those scientists had done there. 

 Jeice opened his mouth again, letting the warm broth come into his mouth once again. He swallowed, feeling the warmth go down. He thanked Burter, though his voice was merely a soft moan of pain. Burter frowned, wondering if he’d even live long enough to get to the colony. He’d need to be brought to the infirmary, where they’d use the equipment to get Jeice to at least a point he could survive without being fed by another person.

 “Where are we going…” The man asked softly, closing his eyes. 

 “Somewhere safe,” Was all Burter said. He felt bad, knowing it was a lie. He’d have to keep Jeice with him to keep other soldiers from killing him. In his current state, he’d be completely helpless against the soldiers.

 And if he didn’t have the skill in ki as the rumors told, Frieza wouldn’t see him as worth the time of keeping alive. Burter watched the other man doze off, and swallowed hard. He kept him there, held on his lap. He wouldn’t let him out of his sight.

 “You know what will happen right?” The woman huffed, glaring back at the two. She could almost scoff at the sight of Burter with the frail man held on his lap. 

 “Yes, I do.” Burter growled, “But there’s the tanks, and the doctors.” 

  “Oh yeah? What if they don’t even work? What if those rumors about this guy are fake?” 

 “They aren’t, he had the number and survived that blast.” Burter hissed, glaring daggers at her. She merely laughed and crossed her arms over her chest, a smirk wide on her face.

 “The scientists could have faked it, and he could be a fake.” She suggested, stepping closer. Burter shielded Jeice from her with his arms.

 “That’s a ridiculous theory, you saw the place. It was clearly not a planned thing,” He said, looking down at Jeice. He observed his wrist, able to clearly see there were no signs of tampering with the number. 

 “You’d know if he was a fake, the ink obviously isn’t new. And you saw the scouter freaking out, the Brench-seijin didn’t have any scouters, so they couldn’t have found a way to screw with them.” 

 “Tch… Whatever. He’s not my problem…” She growled, turning away in defeat. Maybe she was a bit bitter that Burter hadn’t taken any interest in her, and was jealous of the attention Jeice was getting.


	3. -3-

Matted hair gave way underneath the scissors, falling to the ground as it was cut away. The man cringed as his hair was cut, but he had no choice. The time he’d spent without brushing it had destroyed his hair, and so it had to be cut off. Burter didn’t exactly know how to cut hair nicely, seeing as how he lacked it. But he managed to at least make it decent. It was short in the back, and leaving the poof that was Jeice’s bangs intact still. 

“Thank you…” His voice was nothing but a tiny squeak, but Burter could hear it. He gently gave Jeice’s back a pat, his lips curling into a smile. 

“You don’t need to thank me,” He spoke softly, careful as to not startle Jeice. Some time in the tank and a ton of help from the medical staff had given him the strength to walk again, and he could eat on his own now, but he was still incredibly skittish. A month of caring for the poor man had at least made some trust between the two, and Jeice seemed to be afraid to leave Burter’s side now. 

“I’m still gonna do it,” Jeice said, slowly standing. He did this every time he’d stand, as if to test if his legs still functioned. Burter watched him closely, ready to catch him if he were to fall. He gained a bit of weight since having been brought along with Burter, though his frail body still concerned Burter. Burter had no need to catch him, as Jeice could walk on his own now.

“Guess I can’t stop you,” Burter sighed with a shrug, looking down at Jeice. Gods he was so tiny, even when he stood completely straight he didn’t even reach five feet. Burter still found it hard to believe that Jeice held the power that Frieza was convinced he had. Perhaps if not for the number inked onto Jeice’s wrist, he wouldn’t have even believed that Jeice was who they’d been looking for. He liked to believe he would have still helped Jeice even if not for the mission.

“Hey, you hungry?” He asked the small man, who turned to him with a grin, showing off the gap in his front teeth. Burter couldn’t help but find that smile cute, but wouldn’t mention that. He wasn’t sure if the man would particularly enjoy the compliment. Hell, it was possible he didn’t even like men.

“Yes,” Jeice said quickly, seemingly forgetting the grief of losing most of his hair. He took the hand that Burter held out to him, though he could only really grasp just one of the giant’s fingers in one of his own much smaller hands. Burter had come to realize that one of the best ways to cheer the other up was with food, and that he also ate a lot for his size. 

At first, his body would reject whatever he’d eat, and Burter had been a nervous wreck then. But a month had passed since then, and his body grew accustomed to food again. His prayers must have worked, and he was damn glad. 

“Have you ever had chocolate?” He asked Jeice, who he was leading to the cafeteria. He disliked having to move much slower than he usually did, but Jeice couldn’t keep up with him if he walked as he usually did. He didn’t want to risk losing track of him. If another soldier decided to attack him, it would be obviously unfair. 

“No… What’s that?” Jeice asked, head cocked to the side. Burter grinned, glad that this would be a surprise to the man. As they neared other people, Burter kept Jeice close to him. Either Jeice didn’t notice, or he didn’t care for the glares other soldiers would give him. 

“It’s a surprise, I think you’ll like it though.” Burter said, passing through the crowd. Jeice huffed, pouting a little. He stayed close to Burter, ignoring the dirty looks he received. Word had quickly gotten out of who he was, and nobody really believed the story of why he was there. All the others saw him as was a waste of space, and a distraction to one of the strongest soldiers there. Though noboby mustered up the courage to actually do anything. Nobody was dumb enough to piss Burter off.

“I don’t like surprises,” He said with a bit of a whine. Burter laughed, opening the doors to the mess hall. He found that while waiting until most people have left meant less of the better food, it meant a much more peaceful meal. And by now that consequence was no longer in place, as Jeice had managed to cute his way into the cooks hearts. All it took to sway their emotions was a set of puppy eyes and a gapped toothed smile. Now it became almost ritual for the cooks to save something nice for the two. 

It seemed that just seconds after they’d sat down, Jeice had already practically inhaled his food. It surprised Burter at first, but he was used to it now. He pulled the chocolate bar he’d been saving out from his pocket, and broke it in half. Jeice looked up at the half Burter held out to him, eyes wide in curiosity. 

“Here, take it. You won’t die if you eat it,” Burter said, grinning as Jeice took it from his hand. Instead of just cramming it into his face like everything else Jeice would eat, he broke off a small peace. 

“It smells good,” He said quietly as he placed the little peace in his mouth. Burter could easily tell that he’d never tasted it before from his face, and struggled to keep from laughing. 

“Does it taste good?” He asked, watching Jeice’s reaction with great ammusement. The man nodded quickly, looking up at him with a wide grin.

“Holy shit, yes!”


	4. -4-

 Thunder boomed loud. The wind howled and shrieked, shaking the trees outside the bunker. Raindrops hit the window like bullets, banging against the glass. 

 Covers were grasped tight, pulled towards a trembling body as the dark sky was lit up with lightening. The boom of thunder tore a yelp from Jeice, and the blanket came up to cover his face. He’d never seen such weather, having come from a dry desert, where rain would only occur every seven years. But never had he witnessed something like this.

 A large hand gently stroked at the top of his head, an arm snaking around him and pulling him closer to Burter’s large chest. He let out a soft whimper as the reptilian man held him closer, and buried his face into the chest of the much larger male. 

 “It’s just rain, it’s not that bad,” Burter assured, remembering that awful desert that he and the other soldier had to trek through to find the damned lab. He only wished it had been in one of the more northern places of Brench, where it was nice and comfortable. The fact that the southern Brench-seijin even lived in that hell was amazing to him. 

 With the thought of home planets in mind, Burter began to remember his time at his own home. All repressed memories aside, the climate was definitely a wondrous thing to him. The tropical climate of the planet had been something he’d missed for years. But then again, It wasn’t worth gaining the memories he’d kept hidden away for so long. 

 “It never rained at home,” Jeice mumbled, curling up against Burter. The bed groaned under the snake man’s weight as he repositioned himself, allowing both he and Jeice to get more comfortable. Sleeping together had just grown to be a permanent thing, and needed. Burter found Jeice to be warm, and Jeice enjoyed how Burter’s body was cool. That and it felt much safer to be together. 

 “Yeah, but it won’t hurt you. Storms just make loud noises, as long as you’re in here you’ll be okay,” Burter assured, laying back against the bed. Jeice settled on top of his chest, smiling as one of Burter’s arms wrapped around his back. 

 “...Hey, why don’t you ever talk about your own planet?” Jeice asked, white brows raised in curiosity, and his head cocking to the side. Burter stiffened a bit, and swallowed.

 “Uh, You never asked about it,” He said quickly, eyes glancing away. He tried to seem like he wasn’t hiding anything, but from nervous flicks of his eyes, and the grimace on his face; Jeice could easily tell. If burter was awful at anything, it was lying. 

 Jeice could tell though that the subject was something Burter obviously didn’t want to talk about, and deciding that pressing on the matter would only be very rude. So he dropped the subject. 

 “Okay, we can talk about something else.” Jeice said, frowning a bit. While he wanted to find out what was making his friend so nervous, he wasn’t going to be the asshole to try and pry it out of him. It was only fair, since Burter hadn’t tried prying any information out of him. 

 “Like, who was the rude women with you? She kinda looked like a northern Brench-Seijin,” Jeice asked, resting his head against Burter’s chest. Burter let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. And was relieved for the change of topic.

 “I don’t really know, She had just been assigned to the mission with me. Though you might be right, since the entire time she was complaining about the southern part of Brench the entire time we were there.” Burter said with a shrug, looking down at Jeice as the little man began to laugh. Most would find that high pitched snort filled giggle annoying, but Burter liked to hear it.

 “Yeah, definitely from the north. They’d always try coming down to our desert to take it over, but the weather ended up chasing em out,” Jeice said, closing his eyes and yawning softly. 

  “I never did go see what was up in the north though, they said they had flowers all over though, And a beach,” He mumbled, slowly drifting off to sleep. Burter smiled, an idea popping into his head.    


  “I’ll show you something in the morning Jeice,”


	5. -5-

It was entirely much too dangerous to assume that Jeice had been a simple man. Burter found him to be the strangest person he could meet. He’d showed him the fountains the planet’s city had to offer, and in turn had to drag away an enraged man yelping out about how unfair it was to be wasting so much water, putting it through rusted pipes and throwing ridiculous bits of metal into it to further taint it. 

But when he’d showed him one of the planets many beaches, the tiny man found absolutely nothing to say. He simply sat there in the sand, staring at the rocky shore for hours. He’d have stayed there, had Burter not lifted him off the ground to carry him back to the colony. 

“I didn’t know there could be that much water in one place,” Jeice had finally said, resting his head on Burter’s shoulder as he was effortlessly carried in just one of the giant’s massive blue arms. Burter simply smiled, laughing a little. His laugh sounded like more of a hiss than anything, something that ceased to scare Jeice anymore. 

That was another thing, Jeice had turned out to be very easy to startle. To the point where a sudden sound would set Jeice scrambling, and clinging tightly to Burter for the several minutes it would take Burter to assure him that nobody was going to hurt him. If only that were true…

Burter had yet to see Jeice fight, or even why Frieza had so much interest in him. He wasn’t convinced that jeice even knew how to fight, with how easily startled and clingy he was. The poor man was just a ball of nervousness it seemed. 

“Well you came from a desert, so I’m not surprised.” Burter said, giving Jeice’s fluffy head a pat with his free hand. The little man smiled, his face having filled out to reveal that he was entirely babyfaced. He had the chubby little cheeks to match big shining eyes. Burter felt the need to pinch those cheeks, but he resisted. Even for a tiny guy, Jeice hit pretty hard. 

“Guess my northern cousins weren’t lying when they’d promise to take me to the beach, damn,” He said, his smile fading a bit. He missed his family terribly, and only wished to know what had happened to them. His brother, god he missed that asshole. 

“Well, at least you finally saw one right?” Burter asked, a little insensitive but he wasn’t entirely sure what else to say. Jeice either wasn’t offended, or he was damn good at hiding it. He laughed a little, giving Burter’s face a tiny nuzzle with his nose. Burter had soon learned that that was a common way of showing affection for the Brench people. Almost like a kiss on the cheek. 

At first Burter had found it weird that Jeice would show him so much affection, but by now he’d wished Jeice would do so more, for some odd reason… 

“Yeah, guess you’re right mate.” Jeice said, flashing him a toothy smile. Burter’s cheeks darkened, and he had to look away from that smile before the urge to kiss him was too strong.

The door to the colony opened, and Burter had to duck through, one of the curses of being so tall. Much to his dismay, Jeice hopped down from his arms. Before he’d been hardly able to walk without help, but now he was quite the opposite. 

Burter wasn’t sure why the thought of Jeice being able on his own hurt so much. Wasn’t that what he wanted? For Jeice to be alright on his own? It felt so strangely nice to be taking care of someone, to have someone depend on him. It felt good, to have someone to care for and protect. Perhaps it was because he wasn’t like her… 

“Hey Burt, aren’t ya comin? I’m starvin, can we get somethin’ to eat?” Jeice’s voice broke Burter out of his thoughts, and Burter swallowed. He let out the breath he didn’t think he was holding. 

“Yeah, yeah let’s get something to eat, good idea.” He said following the tiny man down the halls. He had to walk slower than he usually did, something that was a little annoying. Usually he’d just hold Jeice so he could move without risking losing him; but now Jeice would complain, saying he’d need the exercise. 

Jeice had grown to be a nicely built man. His hips had a nice curve and his legs were toned. His stomach and rump tended to be on the softer side, compensating for the fact the little man ate practically twice his weight. His arms were more muscle than anything though. He’d say it was to get his throwing arm back. 

And even still, Burter couldn’t see him as anything but delicate. Which earned a lot of complaints when he’d gently touch Jeice, in fear of hurting him. And he rarely sparred with him either, the lack of confidence in Jeice’s fighting skill too strong for that.

They went into a hall, where it was a bit hard to get around other soldiers. Jeice was nimble through, and squeezed through with ease. And well, Burter was so large he could practically plow through the people. He looked over at the signs to clarify where they were, but his attention was quickly stolen as he heard a startled squeak escape Jeice’s mouth.

He looked down almost as fast as light, only to see a rough hand gripping Jeice’s rump roughly. Not even Burter was fast enough to beat Jeice to punching the hand’s owner square in the nose. The man grunted as he stumbled back, holding his nose which was gushing with blood. 

“Y-You crazy bitch!” The man growled, heading to swing a punch at Jeice. Jeice easily dodged his punch, ducking between the man’s legs to end up behind him. The man grunted, but before he could turn around, he found himself put into a tight headlock. 

“Oi! Watch where yer grabbin ya bloody bastard!” He growled, pushing the man’s head into his arm. The man choked and gasped for several minutes, until his face turned a dark purple and he passed out. Jeice dropped him to the floor, huffing as he stepped over his unconscious body.

“Jeice… Holy shit,” Burter gasped, his eyes wide as he had been watching the event. He took a step back, the shock slowly fading away.

“Don’t worry! He ain’t dead, just nappin,” Jeice assured, not exactly seeming to catch on. Burter wasn’t shocked about the fact Jeice could have killed a man, but rather the fact that he had the ability to. 

As it turns out, Jeice wasn’t anywhere near as delicate as Burter thought...


	6. -6-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Me'jal is my au Brench name for the Supreme Kai.

Jeice had seemed to lose his appetite after the previous incident, grumbling with a pout about people being gross and disrespectful. Burter frowned, sitting across from Jeice with his arms resting on the table. He leaned down, looking into hunter green eyes with his own ruby ones. Thin and hardly noticeable pupils widening just a bit. 

“Are you alright?” Burter asked, though he already knew the answer to that question. The guy had no chance against Jeice. 

“Heh, are ya kidding me? If anything you should be askin that guy,” Jeice snorted, leaning back in his seat. He drained his can of beer down, crushing the can down when he was done. Burter huffed a little, straightening his posture. 

“When did you learn to fight?” He asked, though his voice was barely more than a mumble. He was almost sad that Jeice could fight on his own, pouting a little at the thought of Jeice not needing his protection. 

Jeice scoffed, placing the crushed can back down on the table, grabbing a handful of little fried chunks of some mystery meat. He crammed them into his mouth, leaning back down when he swallowed.

“You’re jokin right?” 

“No.”

“Bloody hell Burter, I’m not helpless mate! How you think I survived down on my planet?” Jeice asked, before bursting into a fit of snorty laughter. 

“Well you were when I found you,” Burter said quietly, receiving a brief glare.

“Oh by Me’jal you actually think I’ve always been so useless? I was like that ‘cause they drained me with that bullshit generator.” Jeice huffed, running a hand through the fluffy mess of hair on his head. It had grown out again, reaching down a bit past his shoulders. Though now it was put up with a little hair tie. It grew quite fast.

“I just… Didn’t think you could-”

“Think I could what? Defend myself?”

“Nevermind, it doesn’t matter,” Burter sighed, taking a drink of his soda. It’s not like he could actually express his disappointment that Jeice wasn’t as tiny and helpless as Burter wished. 

“Are you… Are you upset about it big guy?” Jeice asked, a brow raised in confusion. Burter’s cheeks turned a darker blue, and he looked away. 

“No.” 

“Are ya sure? You seem pretty bummed out,”

“Yes I’m sure!”

“But-”

“I said I’m sure, just drop it…” Burter almost growled, and Jeice was quiet again. 

“Sorry…” The Brench-sijin mumbled, trying to hide the fact that he’d winced when Burter had raised his voice. Burter noticed, and a wash of guilt fell over him.

The two sat quietly for a few moments, before a loud voice boomed in the room. Jeice flinched, and Burter’s huge hand gave his own much smaller one a reassuring squeeze to calm him down. 

“There he is! The little whore who knocked me out!” A voice snarled. Jeice and Burter glanced over to look at who it was. The same man, though with him was someone else. 

This someone was tall, not as tall as Burter but still tall enough to threaten. He tucked a strand of green hair behind his ear, sighing as he looked to where the man pointed. Burter gulped, and looked down at Jeice.

“Jeice don’t say anything stupid, that guy’s Zarbon, he-” Burter had started, but was cut off by the superior officer’s voice.

“Why had you attacked one of my soldiers, red one?” Zarbon asked, his voice deep and monotone. Burter flinched, nearly falling out of his seat. He’d been so quiet walking over, Burter hadn’t noticed him.

“Cause he can’t keep his damn hands to himself, and grabs hard as hell!” Jeice huffed, which nearly gave Burter a heart attack.

“Oh?” Zarbon asked, glancing back at the soldier. He scowled, standing straight.

“Where exactly?” 

“My arse, the dipshit just reached over!” Jeice huffed again, crossing his arms. Burter clarified as well. The soldier in question was noticeably afraid now, his confidence swept under the rug quite well now.

“Oh my, My apologies then.” Zarbon spoke, his voice a bit sweeter now. He shot Jeice a brief smile, before walking back to the soldier. He had no need to ask if it was true, as the soldiers obvious fear was all he needed.

“S-Sir! H-he’s lying! I listened to the training a swear!” The soldier uselessly sputtered out. Zarbon frowned, and slowly his hand gently touched the soldier’s cheek.

“I know a liar when I see one dear,” He said softly, before his knee raised quickly, violently slamming the soldier in the groin. The soldier heaved, falling to the ground sobbing in pain. Zarbon simply laughed as he stepped over the soldier.

“I’ll be moving you over to Celerah, it seems my teaching hasn’t been enough. She’ll straighten you out,” He hummed, before exiting the room. 

Burter looked over at Jeice, hand over his chest as he huffed.

“You’re trying to give me a heart attack aren’t you?”


	7. -7-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains a lot of cutes! If you don't want your heart melted from the amount of cutes contained don't read. lol.

“He seemed nice,” Jeice said, sticking close to Burter as they moved down the halls, towards the room they shared. Technically it had been Burter’s room, but due to a surprisingly lucky overpopulation of soldiers on the colony, Jeice was required to share. Neither had any reason to complain, except for maybe the fact they had to change together. But really only Jeice had complaints about that.

“Are you kidding me? Zarbon is like, the meanest commander someone could work under! You probably only caught him in a good mood!” Burter exclaimed, looking down at Jeice as if he were crazy. Jeice rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he looked up at Burter.

“I dunno mate, when I said that he looked pretty… Understanding,” He said, shrugging. “I think he could relate, you know?” Jeice said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“But who’s Celerah? He mentioned someone with that name.” Jeice asked, looking foreward again. He knew so little about that place, which proved to be a bit dangerous.

“She’s another one of the commanders, but more like the one people who misbehave are sent to. Though it’s pretty rare to see one of the soldier’s return.” Burter shrugged. “Nobody knows that much about her, but we know she’s bad news.”

“She sounds scary,” Jeice said, frowning a little. He suddenly stopped, looking ahead as his frown grew. Burter nearly tripped over him when he stopped, and looked down the hall where Jeice was looking. He gasped quietly as he saw a familiar face. 

“That’s the lady who was with you when you found me,” Jeice said quietly. The woman looked over at them, yellow eyes looking at Jeice in disgust. She stepped over to them, her a scowl on her purple face. She tucked a strand of her short grey hair away from her eyes, and scoffed.

“There you are little red, I’m surprised you’re still alive,” She sneered, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Piss off lady, you’re in the way,” Jeice huffed. She gritted her teeth, and looked up at Burter.

“I’m shocked that you’ve managed to stand the little runt, Burter.” She said, putting her hands on her hips. “Though I guess you just have to do your job, don’t you? Why don’t you take a break big guy, I know a nice bar~” She attempted to flirt. She put a hand on Burter’s thick arm.

“Go away, I already told you that I have no interest,” Burter growled, yanking his arm away. She huffed, stamping her feet.

“That’s no way to talk to a pretty lady!” 

“Of course not, but I don’t see any pretty ladies around here,” Burter scoffed. He scooped Jeice up, not liking how she kept looking over at him the way she did. 

“Tch! You aren’t even that handsome anyway!” She huffed. She pushed past him, or tried to. She walked towards another male soldier, who frowned.

“What’s the matter Oribu?” The guy asked, his voice faint as the two walked away from Burter and Jeice. Her snarky voice could be heard as she went away.

“What a bitch,” Jeice huffed, resting his head on Burter’s shoulder as he was held. He didn’t object this time to being held, and simply enjoyed being in the other’s embrace. 

“Yeah, imagine having to hear that voice nagging endlessly as you’re walking through a desert!” Burter huffed, absentmindedly rubbing his hand gently against Jeice’s back.

“Don’t even wanna think about that, eugh…” Jeice mumbled, closing his eyes. It felt really nice, Burter rubbing his back like that. He found himself slowly growing tired, and closed his eyes. 

Burter continued down the hall, moving in long and fast strides. He looked over at Jeice as he heard something strange coming from him. It was a quiet rumble, though more like a series of tiny little chirps than anything. 

“Jeice?” 

No answer was received, and he gently poked Jeice. Jeice’s tiny chirping was interrupted by a tiny squeak, only to continue again as he lifted his head.

“Yeah what? Sorry, fell asleep on yah…” Jeice said, opening his eyes. Burter smiled, rubbing his back again.

“Nevermind, go back to sleep…” He said, and Jeice obliged. All the way down the hall Burter listened to those tiny vibrating chirps, a smile on his face.


	8. -8-

This was the moment Burter had been dreading for the year he and Jeice had been in that army together. Frieza had finally decided to assess if Jeice truly was the powerful being he had been rumored to be. Frieza had given him a year to regain his strength from the pathetic state he’d been found in, and when that year had past; it was time. 

Burter pleaded to go with Jeice, terrified for his dear friend. And not even the pity Zarbon had given him was enough to convince Frieza otherwise. His decision was final, and Jeice was to be sent alone. Well not alone, as Zarbon would be there to serve as the witness. But Burter was convinced that Jeice was basically alone without him. 

Though he respected Zarbon more as a person rather than superior, when the man promised he wouldn’t let Jeice die. He understood well how it felt to be truly afraid for someone you cared for, too concerningly well. 

Burter looked down at Jeice now, reassuringly squeezing his shoulder. They stood at the docking for the pods, staring at the orbs. Jeice hadn’t been in one before, and was reasonably scared. 

“You’ll be alright, okay? It’s a minor mission, just a few guys who are raiding one of the colonies. You just take em out, and you come back here.” Burter said, though the nervousness in his voice was much too evident to comforting. He swallowed hard as he felt Jeice tremble underneath his hand, and wanted nothing more than to just scoop up the tiny man and carry him far far away.

“Wh-What if they’re stronger than me?” Jeice squeaked out, looking up at Burter. Burter sighed, kneeling down as low as he could. Jeice nuzzled his face, and he wrapped his arms around the Brench man. 

“You can use your ki, Okay? You’ll be safe,” Burter said, unsure if even he believed that. There was a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Zarbon. The commander had a sad look on his face, and he sighed softly. 

“You should go, before Frieza notices…” Zarbon spoke softly. Burter nodded, and stood up. Jeice held onto him, begging him to stay with him. He felt Jeice’s chest against his leg, and could feel that the tiny man’s heart was racing. If his face weren’t proof enough of how afraid he was, then his heart certainly was. 

“Sorry Jeice, I’ll get in trouble,” He said, his heart breaking as he pulled away from Jeice, and began to walk out of the room. He moved quickly, as to not hear Jeice’s quiet weeping. 

Zarbon turned to Jeice, sighing softly. 

“Your pod is ready,” He said. He placed a hand on the smaller man’s back, but the poor thing was scared stiff. He took in a breath, being painfully reminded of his child. He pushed the thoughts away.

“You’ll be alright, the pods will release a gas inside that will make you fall asleep. It won’t hurt you.” He assured, his voice nothing but motherly. Jeice looked up at him, his eyes wide in obvious fear. 

Jeice gulped as he started towards his pod. He held his hands over her chest as he climbed in, mumbling to himself a prayer in his native tongue.

“Me’jal guide me…” He gasped as the door closed, and he sat down. Green eyes darted around the tiny pod, and his breathing began to grow rapid. The female voice of the AI spoke in what was supposed to be a comforting voice.

“Now launching to planet F-603, a anaesthetic will be putting you to sleep now. Do not panic.” The voice rung out in a ridiculously happy voice. Jeice squeezed his eyes shut as the pink gas filled the pod, and inhaled the sour scent. 

His body relaxed, and he felt himself slowly falling asleep. 

“Me’jal… Mono yattal,” He mumbled, before falling into the world of unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: "Me'jal monno yattal" Supreme Kai guide me


	9. -9-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter than the others, my apologies. Didn't have much to write for this one.

Burter’s apprehension over the last few days felt like it was slowly killing him, and he found it impossible to sleep without Jeice. He ate alone, and had spent those days training non stop. He was so ridiculously worried for Jeice, and it wasn’t like he was getting any updates as to how Jeice was doing.

What if Jeice had died there? What if he were taken prisoner and tortured in ways that Burter could never imagine? What if-! 

Burter’s thoughts were interrupted by hands slamming against the table, and was this time startled so badly that he fell from his seat. And he was suddenly very glad that he hadn’t been drinking any of his soda right then. 

He looked up, gulping as he saw Zarbon’s face. He expected anger of some sort, but this was the face of a fearful man. Zarbon didn’t wait for Burter to say anything before he spoke, his voice breaking, though it was hard to notice. 

“Why had you said he needed to be protected?” Zarbon asked, his eyes wide in shock. 

“Wh-what?”

“You’d said that he couldn’t be out there on his own, that he needed someone to protect him!” 

“Wh-What do you mean?”

“What I’m saying is,” Zarbon started, standing straight as Burter got up. He cleared his throat. “He completely destroyed the pirates. They all had power levels of at least fifteen thousand!”

Burter sat, his eyes wide in shock. Frieza had sent Jeice to fight people with those kinds of power levels? Only few of the elites had anything above that! Much less a soldier who’d never been sent on anything!

“What!? That high?!” Burter exclaimed, unable to believe what he was hearing right now. 

“They didn’t even stand a chance against him. And you told me he would need to be protected!” Zarbon huffed, crossing his arms. Having seen Jeice’s display there, he grew apprehensive that perhaps Jeice could beat him with as much precision as he had the pirates.

“I-I didn’t even know he could fight all that well, I’ve only seen him against the foot soldiers!” Burter explained, gulping as he feared for a punishment. Though Zarbon showed no signs of having any intentions on doing such a thing.

“I’m going to be sending the two of you on a mission together, next month. You need to see for yourself just what kind of power you’ve brought to us.” Zarbon said as he turned to leave, his cape swishing dramatically behind him as he began to walk out. 

Burter couldn’t argue against that, so he said nothing as he watched Zarbon leave the cafeteria. 

But now he was left to ponder, just how strong was his tiny Jeice? How was he supposed to protect someone if they were stronger than he was?


	10. -10-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally updating after 12 billion years, ey lmao.

“Jeice please, You have to tell me what happened,” Burter spoke firmly. The small man merely sighed, and looked over at Burter. Claws from those oddly cat-like hands scratched against the can of beer that Jeice held, making a hideous shriek of a sound.

“Zarbon let ya see the report,” Jeice said flatly, draining the can of it’s contents. He crushed the can, tossing it aside with a quiet huff. 

“The report isn’t good enough, I want to hear you say it,” Burter practically demanded, and knelt down next to Jeice. The Brench-seijin simply rolled his eyes.

“I took the guys out, why’s that such a shock to you?” The man scoffed, seeming rather offended. Burter wouldn’t admit that he still found it hard to believe Jeice had any power, even though the truth was directly in his face.

“How?” Burter turned Jeice to face him. He regretted it, as he never thought those green eyes could have such a cold glare. 

“Fucks sake mate, You act like I’m some weak baby or somethin’!” Jeice pulled away from him, and grabbed another can of his beer, but before he could even open it Burter quickly snatched it out of his hand. 

“Your file said-”

“Who gives a shit what the file says!” Jeice tried to grab his beer back, but Burter held it out of his reach. The crimson male huffed, and glared up at the other male as Burter stood up. “You all didn’t even know who you were lookin’ for! All ya got was some bullshit number and a hint,”

“Jeice-”

“Why do ya even think I was even in that place? They don’t exactly grab at innocents to use!” Jeice’s teeth gritted together as he crossed his arms. Burter raised a brow, looking down at Jeice.

“What do you mean by innocents?”

“What the hell do ya think I mean? Piece it together mate,” Jeice hovered up, glaring Burter in the eye. “They had that shithole disguised as a prison!”

“I hadn’t noticed…” Burter admitted, glancing away as he swallowed hard. Jeice had been a criminal there? That explained why the Brench government hadn’t done anything to stop the laboratory. 

“It’s either go to the slavers or S-Biotics, and it’s pretty damn obvious where I went,” Jeice’s face fell from it’s angry scowl, and he let out a sigh.

“What had you done?” Burter asked, watching Jeice touch back down onto the floor, frowning as the other sat back on the bed, glancing away.

“Had to eat somehow, so once I turned twelve I started stealin shit,” Jeice tucked some hair behind his ear. “Hard for people to catch someone so small,”

“That still doesn’t explain how you killed those pirates so easily,” Burter said as he sat down next to Jeice, arm outstretched as an invitation for Jeice to come closer. Jeice shook his head, and Burter slowly let his arm fall back down to his side.

“Cousin figured out once I turned thirteen, thought sending me to some military school would help me out.”

“That explains the headlock,” Burter mumbled quietly, remembering the time in the hall, and how easily Jeice took out the man who was far bigger than him.

“Killed a few people, doesn’t matter what else, it was enough for em to attach me to a generator,” 

“Jeice…” Burter sounded a little annoyed. Jeice looked over at him, frowning a little. “Would you just tell me how you managed to kill the pirates already?”

Jeice sighed, and rubbed at his temples.

“We should get to training, we’ve only got a month till Frieza sends us both on that mission,”

Burter got the hint, and sighed as he looked down at Jeice. He wasn’t going to get any solid answer, that much was obvious.

“Yeah...”


	11. -11-

_  “No! Stay back!” The voice was shaking with fear, it’s owner stepping back. The desk groaned as it slid across the floor, the awful sound of the legs screeching against the tile ringing in the man’s ears.  _

 

_  The room filled with a bright magenta glow, the goggles shielding the hooded figure’s eyes reflected the light. The hooded figure’s head cocked to the side, gloved hands clenching a moment. He breathed, the mask enhancing the sound through its vents. His boots clunked against the floor as he took another step. _

 

_  The purple skinned man felt his back hit the desk, and that shriek grew louder as the desk moved back, hitting the wall with a loud bump. The man fell back against the ground, grunting as he hit the back of his skull against the wooden desk.  _

 

_  “I said stay back! Get away from me!” He demanded, his voice breaking as the small figure only drew closer, the strange glowing light on his hand only growing, forming a strange blade. The man gulped, and scrambled on the floor. He grabbed a paper weight, throwing it poorly at the attacker. _

 

_  “Why are you doing this?! Who are you?!” The man held onto the desk, using it to hoist himself up. The figure was silent. The suit… The hood, it was too familiar. The man swallowed hard as he recognized the assassin, and he trembled. _

 

_  “Y-You’re working for money right?! I-I can pay you more then they are! I swear!” He stammered, and the figure stopped for just a moment.  _

 

_  “...No…” The masked man spoke, his voice entirely unthreatening. Almost… Childlike. The politician’s eyes widened, glancing around for any opening. He was going to die if he couldn’t get away. As small as this assassin was, he never failed. _

 

_  “I’ll do anything! I have kids! Y-you can’t kill me!” The man pleaded, hand slowly moving. He wasn’t sure if this assassin knew where he was reaching. “I-I can stop the slaving operations! The mining! All of it!”  _

 

_  “No.”  _

 

_  The man grabbed the heavy tool, and swung as hard as he could. But the thump was not of the assassin hitting the ground, or being hit. The politicians head fell to the ground, the sizzling of his flesh loud. And soon fell his body… _

* * *

 

   Jeice jerked upwards in bed, chest heaving as he found himself brutally awoken. His heart raced so fast he couldn’t feel in, and he clutched his chest as he found it hard to breath. The bed creaked as the other sharing sat up, ruby eyes looking down at Jeice.

 

 “Jeice?” Burter spoke softly, and sighed as he felt the other press close to him. He could feel Jeice’s heartbeat against him, and ever so gently he wrapped his arms around the other. “Did you have a nightmare?”

 

 Jeice looked up at him, eyes wide in fear as he took in a hard breath. He let out a little whine, feeling something hot dripping down his cheeks. He felt Burter’s thumb gently brush his tears away, and his other hand gently rubbing at his back.

 

 “Y-Yeah, I did…” 

 

 “You okay now? You seemed really freaked out.” Burter spoke in a hushed voice, slowly laying back down. Jeice did as well, curling up as he rested his head on Burter’s chest. He could hear the other’s heart beat, fast like him… 

 

 “Yeah… I’m alright,” Jeice sighed, closing his eyes. He… Was used to dreaming of the generator. But not that… “Just… Just had a memory is all,”


	12. -12-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains situations that may be triggering to some, you have been warned.

 It wasn’t easy to notice, but Burter had grown very good at seeing when something was different with Jeice. The way he’d continuously pull up the neck of his turtleneck, and walk with a slight limp, and how he’d rub his lower back, wincing in discomfort every so often.

 

 He’d said he’d gone to train by himself the day before, and was gone for… quite a while. Burter has suspected something, like Jeice sneaking off to drain a few cans of beer, or have a smoke break. But what he was understanding now, well… He didn’t like it.

 

 “Some training you did yesterday, huh?” Burter hadn’t meant to say it as rudely as he did, but it came out already. Jeice looked back at him, eyes wide for a moment as he frowned. He watched Burter cross his scaled arms, and glanced away.

 

 “Y-Yeah, I did a lot,” Jeice’s voice broke, and he wasn’t very good at playing innocent, not when it was Burter staring him down with what could be guessed was a scowl on that snake-like face. Well, he didn’t like it. 

 

 “Three hours of it, and it must have really hurt you back…” Burter’s voice was a low growl. He wasn’t entirely sure why he was so angry. The thought of Jeice with another person in such a way… Disturbed him. Was he jealous?

 

 “C’mon mate,” Jeice sighed, stepping over to Burter. He reached up to place a hand on Burter’s arm, but the other just swatted his hand away. Jeice’s face twisted into a frown, and he looked up at Burter’s face. 

 

 “I know you weren’t just training,” Burter accused, glaring angrily down at Jeice. Jeice felt very… small. More than Burter already made him feel. He wasn’t ever all that afraid of Burter before, but this was… new. He’d never seen Burter so angry before, at least not at him.

 

 “I was mate! Promise-” He’d started to speak, but stopped as Burter took a step towards him. He swallowed, not at all liking how Burter was staring down at him, like he was glaring into the young man’s very soul.

 

 “Let me see your neck.” Burter demanded, reaching down to snatch Jeice off the ground. Jeice hardly managed to dodge it, with how fast Burter moved. He ducked down, squeaking as Burter let out a low growl.

 

 “Why the hell ya needa see it mate? Ain’t nothin wrong with it!” He exclaimed, hovering above the ground enough so that he was level with the other. He adjusted the turtleneck again, swallowing hard. Burter’s hand moved fast again, and Jeice regretted having hovered up.

 

 As much as he didn’t like being made to feel as tiny as he did when Burter was glaring at him; he disliked how easily Burter managed to pluck him right out of the air. 

 

 “If there’s nothing wrong-” Burter started, practically slamming Jeice down against the desk in his room. Jeice let out a hiss of pain as the desk hit his already sore back, and looked up at Burter. “-You wouldn’t be so afraid to show me,” he growled lowly, his better judgement clouded by an overwhelming anger and jealousy.

 

 Nobody could touch Jeice… His Jeice! 

  
 “Mate quit it! You’re hurtin me,” Jeice squirmed. Burter’s large hand placed on his chest kept him still, and he couldn’t free himself unless he were to blast the other. And frankly, hurting his best friend wasn’t at all what he wanted to do.

 

 Burter yanked the neck of Jeice’s leotard, a bit harder than intended. He ended up ripping the suit, holding a large chunk of the cloth. He’d torn off enough to get a view of Jeice’s neck… And heaving chest… And the numerous marks left on his neck. He hadn’t really heard the cry of fear that Jeice had let out. But when he looked up at Jeice’s face, the tears going down his cheeks and terrified eyes were telling enough…

 

 “Who…?” Burter spoke after a few moments of quiet, only hearing Jeice’s tiny sobs. Jeice sniffed, and looked away as he covered his toned chest; as if he were suddenly embarrassed.

 

 “A stranger…” Jeice spoke quietly, not wanting to anger Burter any further by not answering. But with the look he got, he wished he’d just been quiet. And when Burter’s face was merely an inch from his own, he  _ really  _ wished he’d stayed quiet. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the angry snarl on Burter’s face.

 

 He didn’t understand, why was Burter this mad? It wasn’t like he’d gone and killed a baby or something! Besides, Jeice had no partner, and frankly his right hand grew to be a boring partner after a while. 

 

 Without thinking, once he felt one of Burter’s fingers tracing against one of the bites left on his neck, his foot raised. Hard it went, right between Burter’s freakishly long legs. He opened his eyes, hearing Burter heave quietly in pain. 

 

 “Get off me damnit!” Jeice had yelled, feet moving again as the heels of his boots hit Burter in the shoulders, pushing his huge frame back. The bed groaned as Burter landed fortunately on it. 

 

 Burter blinked, and looked over at Jeice. Even despite throwing Burter back, the poor man looked as terrified as could be, tears streaming down his face. Burter’s anger vanished, replaced by a heavy guilt as he realized what he’d done…

 

 “J-Jeice… I’m-” He’d started to apologize, but Jeice was already up, chest heaving as he breathed hard.

 

 “What’s your damn problem anyway? Am I not allowed to enjoy myself?!” Jeice’s hair stuck up in anger, claws on his hands out as he glared at Burter.

 

 “Jeice I… I’m sorry…” Burter spoke softly, “I… I let my anger… take ahold of me,” 

 

 “Yeah… That much is obvious,” 


	13. -13-

_  Feet moved gracefully over the sand, leaving barely a footprint as the young boy ran as fast as his little legs could carry him. Red hands clutched the bag, Green eyes wide in fear as the boy vaulted over a wall. _

 

_  “Okay… Just gotta focus now!” He mumbled to himself, looking down at the fast approaching ground. A fall from that height would surely kill him… He grimaced, sending energy down into his legs, praying this would work.  _

 

_  Shouting from behind him was loud, and he heard the sound of feet halting to a stop. He laughed, looking up at the guards. His feet glowed, and he closed his eyes as the ground came closer and closer… _

 

_  Yes! He landed in his feet, the concrete below him cracking as the air whipped through his white hair. He laughed a little, and looked back up at his pursuers. They all stared dumbly down at him in confusion, unsure of just how he managed to survive the fall. _

 

_  Jeice lifted one hand in the air, claws sliding out as he swished his hand back down. An offensive gesture on that planet, very offensive. The group let out offended shouts, and started to scramble for the stairs to get into the little city. _

 

_  Jeice began to run again, cheerfully dodging the pillars of sandstone as he hopped out of the alleyway. The city was magnificent, at least for the area. The desert of southern Brench weren’t full of the richest people. _

 

_  Massive buildings of sandstone stood tall over the red brick streets, a few stalls around in the center. It was circular, leading out into the outer rings. He grumbled a little, cursing himself for having jumped right into the center. The place was crawling with soldiers. _

 

_  “There the little bastard is!” A voice called, and Jeice was dashing off again. He pushed through a crowd of people, gaining angered insults. He didn’t care, because soon a few soldiers were plowing through the citizens, ordering for them to move. _

 

_  Jeice barely dodged one of the stalls, knocking over a barrel of dried cactus fruits. He quickly scooped a few up, shoving them in his bag.  _

 

_  “He’s running into the alleys!” A soldier called, and Jeice grinned. He jumped up, hands catching onto a ridge in the building’s wall. He scaled it, feet hitting the tile of the roof as he ran. The wind whipped through his hair as he jumped again, the fabric of his hooded shawl waving.  _

 

_  His feet glowed again, and he landed hard against the roof of another building, flinging badly placed shingles everywhere. _

 

_  “Whoops!” He gasped a little, but continued to run. He reached the second layer of the city, hearing soldiers on the ground angrily ordering people out of their way. _

 

_  Brench people on the ground watched Jeice is awe, rather entertained by how he moved so easily. He was but a child, and yet he escaped so effortlessly.  _

 

_  He jumped again, curling his body inwards as he went through the air. Maybe he was just showing off as he gracefully flipped, landing onto the next roof with a roll.  _

 

_  He stood, grinning as a few people down below verbalized their awe.  _

 

_  “Stop right there!” A soldier yelled, bounding onto the roof behind Jeice. Jeice laughed, dodging the guard’s spear as he jumped out of the way. He spun around, landing on his feet as he looked at the other. The guard huffed, and charged towards him. The spear came barreling towards Jeice, but the boy only sighed. He jumped up, swinging out a foot as he slammed the guard in the face. _

 

_  The guard tumbled back, and Jeice was running again. After many more moments of running, jumping, showing off, and stealing a few things. He was out of the rings, jumping into the last one.  _

 

_  There was no brick road, no awesome buildings. Just a few tiny homes that could barely even be considered houses. They were just strong sandstone cubes with metal doors, and a few windows. He skidded across the sand, stopping at the door of one hut.  _

 

_  He smiled, seeing the crumbling old ship he and his brother would play around with. He sighed, checking his bag to see if everything was there. He pushed the metal door open, hearing it groan. _

 

_  “Nanna! I’m back!” He called out, closing the heavy door behind him. He set the bag down on a rickety old table next to the door. He sighed as he pulled off his shawl, shaking sand from his hair.  _

 

_  He looked around the home, frowning a little. There were only three rooms. The bathroom, The front room Jeice stood in, and one little bedroom in the back. He walked over to the corner of the room which served as a pathetic kitchen, and sighed as he saw no food.  _

 

_  “Shoulda stole more food… Damn,” He sighed. Walking over towards the bathroom, he heard… Arguing? He pressed his ear against the wall, hearing the voices much better. _

 

_  “Daree, You can’t keep them here forever. They’re starving!” One voice spoke, in a familiar french accent. Normally, Jeice would be excited to hear his cousin, but not when he heard his grandmother so mad… _

 

_  “And where will you take the boys? To that tyrant’s colony up north?” _

 

_  “It would be better than here, because they’d have an actual home!”  _

 

_  “He’d turn them into soldiers!” _

 

_  “Better than thieves and… Whatever it is that Alfre is doing,”  _

 

_  Jeice winced as he heard something slam against the wall, and stepped back… _

* * *

 

 Jeice felt himself rudely jerked awake, hearing a loud bang of thunder from outside the window. He groaned, sitting up in the bed as he rubbed his eyes. He glanced over at Burter, who was sound asleep. He grumbled, and stood up.

 

 He was still pretty mad about what had happened that afternoon, and mad about how his shirt was now in pieces! Burter had apologized over and over, a bit annoying. Jeice grabbed one of his not torn shirts, pulling it on with a sigh. 

 

 “I wonder what my cousin is doin now? Hopefully I get to see him soon.” he shoved boots on his feet, and stepped out into the hall. The light caused him to wince a little. He looked down at his wrist, frowning at that damned number.

 

 J-BRK03. His not so friendly permanent reminder that all his family thought he was dead. And constant proof that he was just an escaped prisoner.


	14. -14-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a three day weekend, I have my coffee, a want to progress this story, and my inspiration.

Jeice wasn’t even sure what he was doing out in the hall. He’d just walked out with no plan, just wanting to get out of that room. As he walked, he could hear the rain hitting the windows hard. He’d become a bit more used to it, so he wasn’t completely terrified of it. But it still made him nervous.

He sighed as he stopped, looking at the map nailed up to the wall. It showed the entirety of the building, and all the exits. The place was so huge, that Jeice pretty regularly found himself getting lost without Burter. 

“I should figure out what had Burter so mad…” He mumbled to himself, sighing as he touched his hand to the map. He had a pretty good idea of what had set Burter off into that little rage. He was so obviously jealous, or protective. Likely both.

He ran the pads of his paw-like hands along the cool slab of plastic, still so unused to being near such material. Back home, all that he’d ever really seen was sand, and the sandstone used to build basically everything. There was the generator room in the laboratory, but he didn’t like to remember that.

“Isn’t it a bit dangerous for someone as small as you are to be walking around here alone?” A voice pulled Jeice from his thoughts. Jeice wasn’t given a chance to turn around, before a fist slammed against the map. He winced, having felt the air move from that. He glanced to the side seeing… Metal? 

“What the hell?!” Jeice jumped away from the map, past the attacker. He slid on the ground, fists curling as he looked at the man, who was prying a robotic arm out of the wall. The man had a tail, which flicked about. 

“Huh… Guess I’m not used to this one,” The man’s voice was low, almost like a growl. He turned to look at Jeice, and the man noticed that this man had only one eye. There was a metal plate covering the other half of his face, scars peeking out from under it. 

The man smirked, rolling his shoulders. Jeice gritted his teeth, and took a step back.

“Who the hell even are you?” The brench-seijin hissed through his teeth, claws extracting from his fingers out of instinct. 

“That doesn’t matter-” The man stepped closer, clenching the fist of his robotic arm as he pulled it back. “-All that matters is me getting you to come with me…”

“Well tough shit pal!” Jeice huffed, stumbling back as he barely dodged another punch. He gritted his teeth, balling his own glowing fists. This guy was fast, and obviously put a lot of force in his punches. 

But why did he want to collect Jeice? Jeice could only assume one thing… Word of him being in the army had gotten out rather quickly. 

“You know-” The attacker sighed, throwing another punch towards Jeice. Metal connected with flesh, and Jeice heaved out in pain. His body curled around the fist, which had plowed hard into his gut. “-I really do hate to have to hit someone as pretty as you are…”

Jeice grunted as he was thrown, back slamming the metal walls with a painful thud. He wheezed quietly, trying to catch his breath as he tasted metal. His already sore back throbbed in pain, and his eyes stung with the threat of tears. It had been a while since an actual fight...

“Then piss off,” He spat at the other, gaining a glare in return. He felt fingers tangle into his hair, wincing as strands pulled from his scalp. His head was painfully yanked, exposing his neck. 

“Huh…” The attacker had wide eyes, staring down at the bites and bruises that were on the delicate skin of the other. Jeice gulped, taking advantage of this short bit of time. He closed his eyes, knowing this would hurt like hell if it failed. 

His leg duly glowed with ki. He hadn’t done this in quite a while, hopefully he still knew how to do it… He swung that foot upwards, leaving a little red trail. He let out a muffled sound of pain teeth gritting as the toe of his boot hit metal. The sound was loud, and he was sure he’d broken some bone in his foot. Because dear god did it hurt.

The attacker reeled back, yelling in either rage or pain, if the arm even felt it. The socket of his robotic arm had been properly fucked, bent in all kinds of the wrong way. 

“You little bitch!” The male snarled, swinging his flesh arm hard. It hit Jeice square in the jaw, and nobody was really sure which of the two the loud crack had even come from. Jeice cried out as his jaw flared with pain, the force of the punch throwing him into the ground. The other had obviously not been used to using that arm, seeing as how the force of his punch had completely destroyed his knuckles and wrist.

Jeice laughed a little, taking the chance. He swung a fist up, rather hard. He however, was very used to using his real arms. With the force only a pitcher could produce, his fist connected hard with the cartilage of his attacker’s nose. The man quickly brought his hand up to cup his nose, which had been rightfully snapped. 

Jeice scurried to get to his feet, having to bite his tongue to keep from screaming out in pain as his definitely broken foot had weight placed on it. He had to lean on the wall, moving quickly while he was certain the other was distracted with his nose.

He moved down the hall as quick as he could, wincing in pain as he tried to shuffle the weight on his good foot. However, the sound of metal creaking was definitely not a good one. There was groaning, then a snap. 

Jeice didn’t hear what happened next, when hard metal slammed him right in the back of the head. If that hadn’t knocked him unconscious, then being thrown through a metal wall definitely did.

Because there he was, laying on the floor of the almost empty cafeteria…


	15. -15-

Ginyu had seen that face only twice before, both times just as unhappy as the other. And now there he was, staring down at the file, lips curled inwards in a scowl. The veins on his head throbbed, and he gritted his teeth.

 

 “He’s just some kid… Why should I be interested?” Ginyu grumbled, ruby eyes glancing upwards in a cold glare towards the other man, who stood over the desk with his arms crossed. Ginyu watched the corner of this other man’s mouth twitch, and perfectly manicured nails tapped against the muscle of the man’s arms.

 

 “He survived that test Frieza had thrown at him, hadn’t he?” Zarbon sounded a bit annoyed. In all truth, that mission had been nothing more than some cruel joke. It wasn’t supposed to be a success. The bastard didn’t much care for Jeice, not until he saw that he truly was as the rumors said.

 

 “I saw,” Ginyu grumbled, leaning back in his seat. He looked down at the photo, at that damned face. Even though it had been years since the first time he’d seen it, he could remember in vivid detail.

 

_ “I’m sorry Salza… You’ve lost,” Ginyu spoke lowly, looking at the Brench man who laid groaning on the ground, face twisting in pain. Ginyu looked up towards the balcony overhead, a shiver running down his spine at the cruel smirk twisted evilly onto Frieza’s face. Beside him, Cooler frowned. They were speaking, but Ginyu couldn’t hear them.  _

 

_  Salza slowly sat up, wincing as he held his bleeding side. Ginyu frowned, and held out a hand, to help the other up. He watched the other scoff, taking the calloused hand as he stood from the ground. _

 

_  “This new body you found is pretty strong…” Salza spoke quietly, looking into the ruby eyes.  _

 

_  “Yes it is,” Ginyu touched his hand to one of his horns, sighing quietly. He opened his mouth to say something more, but found himself spoken over by a squeaky yet very loud voice. He watched Salza’s face twist in horror, and looked behind him. _

 

_  There stood a pathetic boy, barely even reaching Ginyu’s knee. Red-skinned, and covered in sand. He had tears falling down his cheeks, tiny sobs able to be heard. Ginyu’s face twisted in guilt, and he looked towards Salza.  _

 

_  “Your cousin?” He spoke softly, getting a nod in return. Salza was quiet, walking over to the crying boy.  _

 

_  “Jeice, you shouldn’t be here…” His voice trailed out of Ginyu’s hearing as he led the boy out from the room.  _

 

“You sure it wasn’t by luck?” Ginyu spoke again, his mouth feeling very dry. There was no way… No way that tiny runt would have been able to accomplish such a thing. Carrying that bloodline or not, there was no way…

 

 “I saw him tear through the slavers with my own eyes Ginyu,” Zarbon spoke firmly, voice still as deep and monotonous as ever. Ginyu frowned further, holding his chin in his rough hands. Zarbon wasn't lying, he never did. Sometimes Ginyu would wonder if the man even knew how to. 

 

 He grumbled, closing his eyes as he could remember that second time he’d seen that face. He hated that memory, finding himself in a cold sweat at night at it. 

 

_  Ginyu had been so close, so damn close. He’d been hired to protect the ambassador, from both the dangerous sands of the desert, and from the threat of assassination. _

 

_  While he couldn’t at all agree with the dishonor the man had done upon his own people, money was money. And besides, this man had something Frieza very much wanted. _

 

_  Ginyu had heard the rumors of a certain killer. Nobody really knew if they were man or woman, adult or child. Always wearing a mask, and standing at such a small size. The agility and skill this killer was rumored to possess, it wasn’t something to laugh at. _

 

_  He’d heard the sound of the vent opening, but not the sound of someone landing. He spun around to face who had escaped the vents, staring down at the smallest person he’d ever seen on that planet. _

 

_  Goggles shielded the eyes he was sure stared back at him, and he found himself gulping. The ambassador screamed out in fear as he noticed the killer in the room, ordering Ginyu to attack. _

 

_  And so Ginyu did. He threw out a punch, knowing his own strength likely exceeded this assassins. Even though it landed, he still heard the pained sound that escaped the target’s. The politician held his chest, hand over the burning hole. _

 

_  His face twisted into that of horror, the mask and goggles hitting the ground.  _

 

“Then allow me to see him, and that speedy friend of his.”   
  


“Yes… I will,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just the best at putting chapters right in between tense bits huh? :3c


	16. -16-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter at last! Also, another character introduced.

If there was a man who could be the very definition of big, it was him. The behemoth turned from his sundae, which was just the size for someone of his massive size. The wall caved inwards, his onyx eyes widening as he saw a… Puffball? Well, whatever it was, it was small and fluffy. What had come through the wall landed by his feet with a quiet thunk, uncurling to reveal that it was actually a man. Just a… very small one. 

A little groan came from the crimson skinned man, green eyes peeling open as whoever this was started to regain consciousness. The massive man turned in his seat, his muscular legs bumping the table a bit. He barely felt it anyway. 

“What in the world?” He mumbled, reaching down towards that tiny little man, confused on just how he ended up crashing through the wall. The snowy haired man squeaked as the giant hand came towards him, hair poofing up as he flinched away. The gloved hand withdrew.

“Damn!-” A voice boomed, from the direction of that destroyed wall. The ginger looked over that way, scowling a little as he saw the man who stepped through the hole. “-Hit him too hard I guess,” The stranger spoke. The giant could see that whoever this was, he was a very dangerous person. And obviously not part of Frieza’s army.

The little fluffball one the ground whimpered, obviously struggling to move off the floor. Oh damn… He was incredibly injured as well! Well, what kind of man would he be if he didn’t help him out, he’d also be killing two birds with one stone by dealing with this intruder.

“Don’t you worry ya lil fluff-nugget,” The behemoth spoke in a dumb sounding voice, deep but slowly speaking. It seemed trusting enough though, since the scared little creature didn’t flinch away too hard this time. The ginger stood up as the intruder started towards them, lifting the little man very carefully off the floor. 

“This doesn’t concern you,” The metal armed man stopped in front of said giant, glaring up at him with one functioning eye. This had to be the guy who beat on the little red man, he looked like the type.

“You don’t belong here,” The giant grunted, holding the fluffy man in one arm. He looked down at this man in front of him, who seemed to have to strain his neck just to maintain eye contact. Well, The giant of a man did stand at eight feet tall. 

“Neither does that runt,” The intruder wore a smug smirk. His metal arm swung hard, having been meant to hit the giant in the gut. Well… He hit, but it seemed to have done nothing. 

The giant only laughed, grabbing that metal arm and crushing it within his mighty fist. The arm’s owner cried out in alarm, jumping back. Metal bits fell to the ground, by the behemoth’s feet.

“Wh-What the hell?! That should have killed you!” The intruder snarled, glaring towards the giant. The ginger shrugged, stepping over to the attacker. His presence seemed threatening enough, because the moron ran right out of the room… Into a group of soldiers on guard duty. 

“What-” The little man finally spoke, head leaning against the shoulder of the other. He coughed a bit, gasping down air. “-What a moron…” He managed. The giant laughed, walking out through the actual doors. He adjusted the little man on his shoulder.

“Alright little fluff-nugget, let’s get ya to the medbay,” He spoke. He heard the little man huff.

“I have a name, Call me Jeice, not… Not fluff-nugget, that just sounds dumb,” 

“Alright fluff-nugget, I’m Recoome,” He teased. The little man, now known to him as Jeice, groaned in frustration.

“You’re lucky I’m too hurt to hit ya, you overgrown wanker,” 

“Suuure,”


	17. -17-

_  “Jeice baby! Momma needs you to run!”  _

 

_  The woman’s voice broke in fear, tears streaming down her cheeks as she ushered the young boy towards the window. Dark red hands shook as she reached towards the metal slide, hunter green eyes wide in terror.  _

 

_  Jeice was crying, clinging onto her leg. “No!” He had cried out, struggling as his mother attempted to pull him off her leg. He could hear a loud bellowing in just the other room, enraged swearing as multiple things were shattered.  _

 

_  “Run to the city! Your brother is there!” The woman pried him off her leg, sobbing out as she started to lift him up towards the window. She let out a panicked scream, hearing the door behind her slam open violently.  _

 

_  “You stupid fucking woman!” The man stalked in, slamming the door loud behind him. It slammed so hard the walls behind him cracked. The woman held Jeice close to her chest, snapping around to face the man. _

 

_  His amber eyes narrowed in rage, blond hair falling over his blue forehead. Thick brows arched downwards, his hairy lip barring back as he snarled.  _

 

_ “Stay the fuck away from me Toupet! You aren’t taking him!” She screamed, backing against the window. The floorboards creaked under the man’s heavy footsteps, and Jeice began to sob as he clung tightly to his screaming bother.  _

 

_  Toupet’s fist swung, hitting the woman hard in the jaw-! _

 

**…**

 

 Jeice’s eyes snapped open, darting around in terror. He sucked in a hard gasp, panic washing over him as he couldn’t see a thing. All he saw was green blur, and felt terrifyingly trapped. His limbs flailed, tugging against all the tubes wrapped around him. 

 

 He was in there again! He was back! He was-! 

 

 The liquid surrounding him began to drain, his heaving breaths made easier once there wasn’t all the pressure of being fully submerged. He reached up, yanking the oxygen mask away from his face. 

 

 “G-God…” He gasped out, pulling all the tubes off his body. 

 

 “Jeice? How do you feel?” A raspy voice asked, and he slowly relaxed as he recognized it. 

 

 “Like shit, Doc,” he answered, huffing as he looked forward. He looked right into bulging ruby eyes, staring the fishlike figure in the face. They seemed to laugh softly, though it was more of a hissing wheeze than anything. 

 

 “Better than before, I hope.” They said calmly, looking up and to the side. Jeice stepped out from the tank, dripping with the liquid as he was handed a towel. He followed the doctor’s glance, instantly rearing back in surprise as he saw the massive brute standing in front of him. 

 

 “Bleedin ‘ell!” He squawked out, quickly moving the towel down to cover his nudity. The giant laughed a little, reaching up to brush some of his red hair back. 

 

 “Ya alright fluff nugget?” The brute asked in his deep and slow voice. Jeice scowled, quickly recognizing who the big guy was. He was the one who’d stopped that metal armed guy from killing him! Recoome, that was his name. 

 

 “I will be! Once ya piss off so I can get some clothes on!” The Brenchian huffed out. His hair clung wetly to his back, and his bangs were plastered onto his face. It was cold and uncomfortable. 

 

 The behemoth raised his hands in a bout of defeat, seeming to find more humor in the tiny man screaming at him than anything. A rather rude way to react to someone who’d saved your life from a raging bounty hunter, but he’d deal.

 

 “Alright, Alright,” He let his hands fall, kneeling down a little to get down to Jeice’s height… Okay, he kneeled a lot. 

 

 “Recoome,” The doctor pried, their purple fins twitching a little as they stepped closer. “It may be wise to look away. Also, I expect that Zarbon would want an explanation on who it was you’d fought, I think he may be rather curious…” 

 

 Recoome stood up, ignoring the hard glare Jeice was giving him. He nodded, grin on his face.

 

 “Not much of a fight really Blakburry,” he boasted, and the fishlike doctor scowled a little. He grimaced, and turned towards the door. “Alright I’ll tell him, but you’re the one calling Celerah! She’s still pissed at me,” he added, walking off. 

 

 Jeice huffed, starting to dry the liquid off his dripping skin. He was… shaking. A lot. He’d not had that dream for so long… His mother…

 

 “It was only a matter of time before S-Biotics found you again…” The doctor sighed, watching Jeice dry off. Jeice glanced down at the floor.

 

 “Burter’s gonna flip shit…” 

 

 “Most likely,”


End file.
